Developing an Ecommerce Strategy That Integrates Paid Search, SEO

Paid search and search engine optimization (SEO) function best when they work together in tandem—yet far too many marketers focus on one at the expense of the other. This can be detrimental, not least where ecommerce is concerned.

Indeed, the best way to promote an ecommerce enterprise is through an integrated approach—one that unites these different disciplines but aligns them toward the same goal. That sort of systematic, big-picture approach is our bread and butter here at EverythingOnline, so we’ve put together a brief road map to show our general, recommended approach.

Mining PPC Data for SEO Opportunities

First, note that your reserve of PPC data can provide some helpful direction for your SEO endeavors. A few examples:

Share keyword data. SEOs can’t always determine which organic search term brought traffic to their site—but what they can do is go into AdWords and use “Search Query Reports” to discover which keywords to favor in content creation.

Remarketing. Another strategy for SEOs is to use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to promote any creative content they’ve developed—blogs, e-books, etc.

Sitelinks. Another way to bridge SEO and PPC? Implement sitelinks within an AdWords campaign, supporting blog posts and other creative collateral. This is a proven, effective way to bring more visibility to your best blog posts, helping them reach an even wider audience.

Copywriting. In AdWords, it doesn’t take long to figure out which copy works well and which doesn’t—and you can use that information to guide your content creation efforts, implementing the calls to action or the value propositions you’ve found to be effective.

Mining SEO Data for PPC Opportunities

The inverse is also true: The analytics you collect from your SEO efforts can show you where to take your PPC (and this includes both AdWords and Bing Ads, we should mention). Examples include:

Budgeting. You may find that there are PPC keywords you want to hit, but they’re simply too competitive—too expensive. In these scenarios, you can double down on SEO content that targets these same keywords. These results may take longer to obtain, but it’s still a good way to potentially drive lots of traffic.

Traffic patterns. A final note for this section: You can always look at your organic search data to map out your PPC spend—helping you to plan for the optimal times to push content, etc.

Integrated Search Marketing Challenges

In addition to the strategy points mentioned above, it’s also important to consider some of the challenges that accompany this holistic approach.

For example:

Site downtime and other errors will impact SEO while also causing you to lose money on your PPC efforts—because of course, sending someone to a broken website link is always going to be a bust. Ensuring optimal website UX is key.

Competitor research can be a bit blurry, as your SEO competitors may not be the same as your PPC competitors.

Neither of these problems are insurmountable for your ecommerce campaign, but they’re certainly things you’ll want to be aware of.

The Benefits of Integrated Search Marketing

The bottom line for ecommerce marketers: PPC and SEO are two sides of the same coin, and either one can be effective in its own right. When they are combined, however—and when they are made to work in tandem—that’s when you can get the best results and the most efficient processes.

Spend some time developing a streamlined and holistic approach—one where your SEO efforts support your PPC, and vice versa. As you seek to build this immersive, collaborative strategy, our team can help. EverythingOnline offers both PPC and SEO expertise to companies in Orange County and beyond—and we’d love to work with your ecommerce brand. Contact us today to set up a consultation.